Products / Services

Places to rent

Manufacturers & Brands

Adobe – http://www.adobe.com/ – Well-known software company, produces Photoshop, Lightroom, and other popular and full-featured programs. Currently all software is subscription based; the Creative Cloud.

Canon – http://www.canon.com/ – Well-known manufacturer of some of the highest quality cameras, lenses, and accessories available. Look to the “L” (Luxury) line of lenses for best optical and build quality.

Nikon – http://www.nikon.com/ – Well-known manufacturer of some of the highest quality cameras, lenses, and accessories available

Pelican – http://www.pelican.com/us/en/ – Very high quality, well-designed, functional, protective cases for field and travel. Most are dustproof, waterproof, chemical resistant, and virtually unbreakable.

Plugins and Miscellaneous

If This Then That – https://ifttt.com/ – Website that allows you to make “recipes” which automate certain online tasks for specific services, based on trigger actions. Useful for automating social posts.

Websites / Blogs / Misc

Organizations

NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) – http://www.nanpa.org/ – NANPA’S Mission: “NANPA promotes the art and science of nature photography as a medium of communication, nature appreciation, and environmental protection. NANPA provides information, education, inspiration and opportunity for all persons interested in nature photography. NANPA fosters excellence and ethical conduct in all aspects of our endeavors and especially encourages responsible photography in the wild.” I recommend that all nature photographers become a NANPA member – I am one!

Legal and Professional Advice

Photo Attorney – http://www.photoattorney.com/ – “Serving the Photographer’s Legal Needs” is the tagline of this website for the Law Office of Carolyn E. Wright. The fact that Carolyn is a photographer adds a level of trust to what she is doing. The site offers free articles and other information. They also offer paid products and services. I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed and reading the blog articles as they come through. If you ever find yourself in need of legal counsel regarding photography, this would be as good place to start.

Articles, Blogs, Tutorial Sites

Cambridge in Colour – http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ – “A learning community for photographers,” an excellent website which covers many topics: Technical, technique, equipment, basics, intermediate. There are also forums with a great community of other photographers, beginner to professional, willing to share knowledge, experience, or engage in a friendly competition.

Carolina Wild Photo – http://www.carolinawildphoto.com/ – Useful and interesting site with some good info on camo, fieldcraft, custom DIY projects, and so on. A fun site to check out and find some cool tips.

CanonRumors – http://www.canonrumors.com/ – Rumors and news about Canon (and competing brands), such as upcoming new cameras, sensors, lenses, trade shows, and so forth. Has a forum, though can be hostile and argumentative on a frequent basis. Best used as an occasional source of intel, taken with a grain of salt.

Strobist – http://strobist.blogspot.com/ – Outstanding blog and articles by David Hobby, primarily about photographic lighting, including strobes (hence the name). A highly recommended resource for learning flash, lighting, and getting inspired. See next item below…

Strobist Lighting 101 – http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html – Highly recommended if you would like to begin learning flash photography, speedlites, lighting, and similar topics (especially if you are “afraid” of flash, as many beginners are). Excellent, clear, informational, inspiring.

The Digital Picture – http://www.the-digital-picture.com/ – Very good source of reviews and data for cameras, lenses, and other gear. Supported by sample photos, reference images of the equipment, experiments, and other data. There is other information on the site as well.

Saltwater Tides – http://www.saltwatertides.com/ – A source for tide, moon, and sun predictions for the Gulf Coast, US East Coast and US West Coast. Easy to read, and printable. Very helpful when you need to know tide levels for specific locations.

Time and Date – http://www.timeanddate.com/ – Tons of information and data for time zones, sun and moon, calculators, weather, and more. Useful for planning travel, trips and outings.

Social Photography Sites

DeviantArt – http://www.deviantart.com/ – Probably better known for painters, sketch artists, and other similar creators, though it is becoming more popular with creative photographers.

flickr – https://www.flickr.com/ – One of the largest, most well-known image sharing sites online. Excellent sense of community, good exposure through groups, though slow to start. If you are only posting to one photo sharing site, this should be the one.

500px – https://500px.com – Another well-known photo sharing site. Not nearly as much engagement and community as flickr, but still a decent place to show your work.

Google+ – https://plus.google.com/ – Social sharing on the venerable Google. The possibility for views and engagement is high, due to resharing, communities, and the sheer scale of everything.

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ – This is worth mentioning because of its popularity. Photos can only be posted to instagram via a mobile app, so you’ll need to email your images to yourself from computer to your phone. Also, a vertical image’s aspect ratio must be no taller than 4×5. Overall it can be a pain to post on instagram, and it’s perhaps not the best target audience (depending on your goals), but there is potential for huge exposure through group features. I had an image featured in a large group and within 24 hours it had over 2K faves.

Photographers / Friends

Gladys Klip

Gladys is an incredibly talented wildlife and nature photographer based in the Netherlands. Her stunning images have gorgeous lighting and artistry. In addition, she is a very friendly and wonderful person! I highly recommend you check out her work!

Missy is a very talented photographer based in Canada. Her love of nature is apparent when looking over her beautiful images. She’s also a very kindhearted and wonderful person who I’m proud to call a friend.

Testimonials

I finally found the time to read Part 2 and I love it! I think you will point a lot of people to the right direction with this one Matthew, i.e. anyone who is a bit serious about photography.

Thanks for all the work you put into your publications. They are excellent – both technically, and inspirationally. The writing is clear and precise - but also has heart.

I have to say "wow" again. Very insightful. Again, very well written; and again, brilliant content.

You have a very unique perspective and a lot of what you write echoes with what I have been learning in my own journey.

Love your newsletter, it is the best subscription I have from all photography masters so far!

The article was extremely inspiring and got me up and out to take some photos with more purpose this morning.

This is an excellent article, I deeply appreciate the thought and effort you have put into the photography of wildlife and the article below. You are the master by far!

Thank you for sending me this well written and inspiring article. The images that you have used to illustrate the piece are outstanding. You have put a lot of thought into this and I can see that you are passionate and dedicated about what you do.

I am repeating myself but I loved your latest newsletter about how to improve your photos!